THE ISLAND AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD by Russell Shorto

(HISTORY)

Russell Shorto, The Island at the Center of the World:  The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America (New York: Doubleday, 2004; Vintage Books, 2005).

Audio Version: Recorded Books; Unabridged edition (July 30, 2004).

Reviewed by Wilda Morris

Native Americans did not sell Manhattan to the Dutch for $24. That is just one of the myths that spread after the British took control of New Amsterdam in 1664. The rich history of the Dutch colony is being reclaimed as 12,000 pages of surviving records are at last being translated by Charles Gehring.

The way Shorto tells the story of the founding and early years of Manhattan makes it almost as engrossing as a novel. At the center of the tale is Adriaen van der Donck, the young lawyer who lead the opposition to the autocratic practices of Willum Kieft and his successor as director-general, Peter Stuyvesant. I confess that my original interest in this story stemmed from the role that Cornelius Melyn, my eighth great-grandfather, played in these events. I was glad to find him mentioned a number of times, but I would have found the book fascinating even if I had had no genealogical relationship to Manhattan.

New Amsterdam, in contrast to most of the British colonies, was a polyglot, multi-ethnic society many of whose people valued religious liberty, free trade and individual rights. We can still learn from much of their history. I highly recommend this book in both print and recorded versions.

ANNABEL by Kathleen Winter

(NOVEL)

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

(Black Cat Publishers, New York, 2010), 461 pages.

Reviewed by Chuck Dayton

Annabel is a first novel for Kathleen Winter, a Canadian writer. She has previously published a compilation of short stories. The setting for this novel is a small town on the coast of Labrador. Winter begins her story in March of 1968 with the birth of a baby in the village of Croyden Harbor, Labrador. Three people know the story of the birth of the baby, later named Wayne: his father Treadway, mother Jacinta, and the mid-wife and friend, Thomasina (who secretly called the baby Annabel, named after her child who perished in an accident). The baby was born a true hermaphrodite, with the anatomy and physiology of both male and female. A decision was made to surgically and medically treat the baby so that the child would grow up as a boy.

Some of you may have read Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides published a few years ago. That was my first experience with the topic of having a parent choose the gender identity of a child at birth and having the child grow to adulthood, finding out later in life his/her true identity. The current novel Annabel is a slightly more serious treatment of the topic than was Middlesex. Both novels, I think, provide an amazing insight into the world of gender identity and crisis in later life.

The description of life in Labrador during the 1970’s is an eye opener. Life is hard, the men working almost entirely outdoors year round, and the women engaged in domestic chores 24/7. That makes the subject matter all the more interesting. Both parents know the double gender identity of their child, one bent on making Wayne a man, the other wanting to make sure his feminine side is nurtured as well. I won’t give away any more of the plot, but there are medical and psychological crises, with twists and turns in the plot that make for a very interesting read.

Before you shy away from this book thinking the topic may be too “heavy” or too “weird”, please give it a try. I think you will find yourself fascinated and engrossed.